acaba

Used to add a meaning of curiosity, indecision or doubt, and sometimes courtesy. Roughly equivalent to “I wonder (if/whether)”, “Would you please...”, “May I...”, "by any chance".

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈɑ.d͡ʒɑ.bɑː/

Etymology

Inherited from Ottoman Turkish: عجبا

In summary

From Ottoman Turkish عجبا (ʿacaba), from Arabic عَجَبًا (ʕajaban), adverbial accusative of عَجَب (ʕajab, “astonishment, wonder, amazement”).

Concepts

do

I wonder

Translations

est-ce que

aya

gelo

ma

ob

etwa

not translated

-ne

-nam

translated by inversion

not translated

tun

Wohl

👍

wohl

est-il possible

Sentences

Acaba hakikaten böyle miydi?

Was it really like this?

Ne yapsak acaba ?

What should we do?

Acaba beni birine mi benzetti, dedim.

I wondered if he likened me to someone.